The Ultimate Guide to Wizard Island & Is It Worth It?

Wizard Island is the small cinder cone volcano that sits within Crater Lake. Visiting this tiny island is one of Crater Lake’s top experiences.

A trip to Wizard Island starts with a quick shuttle ride across the lake. Once on Wizard Island, visitors have a few hours to hike to the summit of the volcano (the views are amazing!), hike and rock scramble out to Fumarole Bay, and even go swimming.

Visiting Wizard Island was my favorite experience in Crater Lake. To stand on top of this island, getting 360° views of the lake and gazing into the Witches Cauldron were the highlights. But with just a handful of visitors getting to do this per day, the island also feels delightfully uncrowded.

In this guide, we’ll cover whether or not a visit to Wizard Island is worth it (spoiler alert: it is!), how to plan your visit, and what you can do on Wizard Island.

Table of Contents

#1 Thing to Know About Wizard Island

We visited Wizard Island in September 2025, on the last day of the season that shuttle rides were offered. And we may have been on the very last tour for the next few years.

Cleetwood Cove is where visitors board the shuttle to Wizard Island. It’s a 1-mile downhill walk to the boat dock, and in recent years, this trail has become quite hazardous due to erosion and the potential for rockfalls.

Construction on this trail is planned to start in 2026 and is projected to last three years (depending on the source, we’ve heard estimates ranging from 2 to 5 years). During this time, there will be no boat tours of Crater Lake, including the shuttle rides out to Wizard Island. However, there is the small chance that there will be delays in starting the construction project, and if so boat tours will be operating in 2026.

So, why publish this guide in 2025 if you can’t potentially visit Wizard Island until 2028 or later?

In my opinion, this experience is incredible. If you are planning future national park trips and like the idea of visiting Wizard Island, consider saving your visit to Crater Lake for a future date. If you read through this guide and still don’t have interest in visiting Wizard Island, there’s no need to delay your travel plans.

However, it’s important to know that construction was supposed to start in 2025 but was delayed, so boat tours were still offered. It could happen again in 2026.

For more information about the Cleetwood Cove construction project and updates about when boat tours of Crater Lake will resume (and if the construction project really does start in 2026 as planned), take a look at the National Park Service website.

Cool Facts About Wizard Island

Mount Mazama was a massive volcano that erupted 7,700 years ago, forming Crater Lake.

Volcanic activity continued in the caldera, forming several cinder cone volcanoes: Wizard Island and Merriam Cone. Wizard Island is the tallest of these two volcanoes, rising 760 feet above the surface of the lake, but even so, only 2% of Wizard Island sits above the waterline of the lake. Merriam Cone is completely submerged in the water.

Wizard Island gets its name because it looks like a wizard’s hat. The crater is called the “Witches Cauldron.”

The only way to get to Wizard Island is by shuttle. It is not possible to hike or swim out to Wizard Island.

Wizard Island Photo Crater Lake National Park

Wizard Island (photo take from The Watchman)

How to Visit Wizard Island

Wizard Island can only be visited on a shuttle tour. Boat and shuttle tours are operated by Explore Crater Lake.

Boat tours of Crater Lake are only offered from mid-July through mid-September.

To visit Wizard Island, we booked seats on the Wizard Island shuttle. This includes a quick boat ride from Cleetwood Cove to Wizard Island (15 to 20 minutes one-way) and 3 hours on Wizard Island. The total experience takes about 4 hours, plus additional time to walk the steep trail to and from Cleetwood Cove.

Here is the itinerary:

Park at the Cleetwood Cove parking lot, which is located across the street from the Cleetwood Cove trailhead. When we did this, the lot was completely full, so we found parking along Rim Drive. There are restrooms in the parking lot.

Check in for your boat tour. The check-in booth is located in the parking lot. They will give you a ticket, which you will use to board the boat.

Walk down the Cleetwood Cove trail to the boat dock. This trail is 0.9 miles one-way with a 660-foot descent. It is steep at times. Allow 30 to 45 minutes to walk this trail, even going downhill. If you are a fast hiker, it can be done in less time (we did it in 20 minutes), but make sure you give yourself plenty of time, so you don’t miss the boat.

Cleetwood Cove Trail Map

Cleetwood Cove Trail elevation profile

Cleetwood Cove Trail

Cleetwood Cove

Board the shuttle boat. It is a 15- to 20-minute ride out to Wizard Island. Rain jackets are recommended because you can get a little bit wet on the ride. In September, it was a very chilly ride (high temperatures were 60 degrees on the day we did this).

3 hours on Wizard Island: go hiking, swimming, and fishing.

Return to Cleetwood Cove by boat (15 to 20 minutes).

Hike up the Cleetwood Cove Trail. This time, it is a steep, 0.9 mile uphill walk (30 to 45 minutes).

TOTAL TIME: In total, the entire experience takes about 5 hours, with time to find parking and walk the Cleetwood Cove Trail in both directions.

Tickets for the Shuttle

Tickets for the Wizard Island Shuttle are available on the Explore Crater Lake website. These must be booked in advance, ideally several weeks before your visit. I recommend booking your tickets as soon as you know your dates of travel.

Wizard Island Shuttle: This experience includes 3 hours on Wizard Island plus a direct boat ride to the island, which takes roughly 15 minutes one-way. This is the quickest option for visiting Wizard Island. There are two shuttles every day, at 9 am and 11:30 am. Each shuttle takes 50 people. This is what we did, taking the 11:30 am shuttle.

Wizard Island Boat Tour: This experience includes both a 2-hour cruise of Crater Lake plus three hours on the island.

Wizard Island

Things to Do on Wizard Island

Now that you made it here, what can you do?

Hike to the Summit of Wizard Island

Distance: 2.4 miles (3.9 km) out-and-back
Total Ascent: 800 feet (245 meters)
Lowest Elevation: 6,230 feet (1,900 meters)
Highest Elevation: 6970 feet (2,125 meters)
Difficulty: Strenuous
Time: 1 to 2 hours

Wizard Island summit elevation profile

Wizard Island Trail Map

Hiking to the summit is by far the #1 thing to do on Wizard Island. Standing on top of this volcano and getting panoramic views of Crater Lake is jaw-dropping. This was my favorite view in the park.

The trail starts at the boat dock and wastes no time ascending up the volcano. It is a steady, uphill walk until you reach the summit.

A view of the Wizard Island boat dock from the trail

The first part of the hike (about the first quarter mile) is the toughest (the first photo below). The trail is very rough, with lots of uneven surfaces and volcanic rock. Once the trail gets above this point, it becomes much smoother with more even footing.

The views along the trail are nice, as you peer through the bright green trees to the vibrantly blue colors of the lake.

But the best part is the summit. Not only do you get those amazing views of the Crater Lake caldera, but you can also look down into the Witches Cauldron.

The trail makes a loop around the summit, offering different vantage points. I had a lot of fun photographing the remaining skeletons of trees, the brilliantly blue colors of the lake, and the Witches Cauldron. There is also the option to hike down into the Witches Cauldron, if you like.

Once finished at the summit, retrace your footsteps back to the boat dock.

Here are few photos from the summit.

Witches Cauldron

Take the Wizard Island 10 Mile Challenge

Tim and Tyler were training for an Ironman distance triathlon, so we all had a daily goal of hiking 10+ miles every day on this national park trip.

While on Wizard Island, Tyler trail ran to the summit four times and hiked out to Fumarole Bay, for a total distance of 10 miles. We are now calling this the “Wizard Island 10 Mile Challenge.”

Tim and I hiked to the summit twice and out to Fumarole Bay once, so that gives you an idea of how much you can do in 3 hours, but you do have to move fast (and most people would see no need to hike to the summit twice on one visit to the island…we just liked the challenge of doing it multiple times).

Walk and Rock Scramble out to Fumarole Bay

Distance: 1.1 miles (1.8 km) round trip
Total Ascent: 280 feet (85 meters)
Lowest Elevation: 6,230 feet (1,900 meters)
Highest Elevation: 6,315 feet (1,925 meters)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Time: 30 to 60 minutes (+ extra time if you want to swim)

This hike, and it really is a hike, is relatively flat. What makes it challenging are the rocks and boulders along the trail. It is a very rough, rocky trail and it could test your balance, if you are not accustomed to hiking across a trail like this. There are a few places you may also have to do some easy rock scrambling to get around a boulder here and there.

This trail leads out to Fumarole Bay, which has a small swimming hole.

Fumarole Bay

WIZARD ISLAND SUMMIT + FUMAROLE BAY: If you hike both the Wizard Island summit trail and out to Fumarole Bay, the total hiking distance is 3.35 miles (5.4 km) with a total ascent of 1,000 feet (305 meters).

Go Swimming

The best place to go swimming is at Fumarole Bay. There is a small, secluded swimming area here with a floating platform.

The water is 57°F (14°C), so it will be chilly! Only swimsuits are allowed, no wetsuits, no flotation devices, no goggles or snorkeling gear, and no life vests. These restrictions are in place to prevent introducing invasive species to the lake.

Go Fishing

Crater Lake is stocked with kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. Fishing is allowed from Wizard Island, but like swimming, there are restrictions on what you can bring, which you can see on the National Park Service website.

Are there Bathrooms on Wizard Island?

Yes! There is one toilet on Wizard Island, near the boat dock.

There is also a small building that can be used for shelter, in case of rain or other adverse weather conditions.

Is Wizard Island Worth It?

This was the biggest question we had while planning our trip to Crater Lake, and even on the morning that we visited Wizard Island.

Visiting Wizard Island takes up a nice chunk of time, about 5 hours. If you are only in Crater Lake for one day, that doesn’t leave you much time for anything else.

On the day we did this (a Sunday in early September), it was a rainy, foggy, chilly day. Crater Lake was completely clouded in. We spent the morning sitting in the Crater Lake Lodge, waiting for the rain to stop and the clouds to lift. As we looked out towards Crater Lake, the only thing we could see was fog and clouds.

The last thing we wanted to do was to devote 5 hours of our time to being wet and cold and stuck on an island with no views and very little to do.

We came very close to skipping our Wizard Island tour.

Keeping our fingers crossed, we drove through the rain and fog to Cleetwood Cove, where conditions were clearer. We could actually see the lake from here, a big improvement over the south side of Crater Lake.

And once on board the shuttle, conditions steadily improved, and as you saw from our photos, the sun also made occasional appearances, which was wonderful and totally unexpected.

As I stood on top of Wizard Island, I was thrilled with how our day turned out. Visiting Wizard Island was so much better than I thought it would be, with the combo boat tour and incredible views from the summit.

Yes, the trip to Wizard Island takes a lot of time. We were also concerned that we would run out of things to do with 3 hours on the island, but there is plenty to do, with two hiking trails and lots of great views to photograph.

This was Tim’s and my favorite experience in Crater Lake (Tyler’s favorite was hiking to Garfield Peak). It is the most unique thing you can do in Crater Lake, plus it combines a boat tour with a visit to a cinder cone volcano. How cool is that?

And to look back at photos of Crater Lake, knowing that you stood on Wizard Island, the centerpiece of nearly every photo taken of the lake, is something special.

But if you only have one day, is it worth visiting Wizard Island? Having done it, I think it is worth it. If you don’t mind a busy day, you’d still have time to drive around the rim visiting overlooks, plus doing either the hike to Garfield Peak or Watchman (you could do both if you are fit and fast). That would be one amazing day in Crater Lake.

Is it worth delaying a trip to Crater Lake to visit Wizard Island? This one is tougher to answer. If you are planning a visit in 2026 or 2027, I don’t think it is worth delaying your plans, since it might not be until 2029 that boat tours resume. Visiting Wizard Island is amazing, but there are still plenty of great things to do in the park. However, if you have a long list of national parks to visit and don’t mind saving Crater Lake for a few years, it could be worth the wait.

If you have any questions about how to visit Wizard Island, or if you have visited Wizard Island and would like to share your experience, let us know in the comment section below.

More Information for Your Trip to Crater Lake

This is our very first article about Crater Lake National Park, with more to come. In the meantime, here is more information about the US national parks.

Wizard Island Crater Lake National Park Oregon